Hydra of Lerna, 1998 (Fidel Goás Mendes, Oleiros, 1957)

This sculpture commemorates one of the labours of Hercules. In payment for having committed horrendous crimes, the Oracle of Delphi demanded that the hero enter the service of King Eurystheus, who commanded him to complete twelve labours. The first and most well-known was to slay the lion of Nemea, and the second, the Hydra of Lerna, a ruthless sea monster whose multiple heads could regenerate and reproduce if severed. With the help of his nephew Yolaos, Hercules was able to defeat the monster and used its blood as poison for his arrows.